Boretto Cross

Cross Country in Boretto, on the Banks of the Po

Boretto Cross is the classic cross-country race that enlivens the small municipality of Boretto every winter, in the province of Reggio Emilia, in the heart of Emilia-Romagna. Included in the calendar of provincial cross-country races of FIDAL Reggio Emilia, the event attracts hundreds of registered athletes who compete on the natural terrain of the Po river floodplain, amidst meadows, embankments, and dirt paths that make each edition a true challenge, made of mud, cold, and tenacity.

An Athletics Festival for All Categories

Cross-country is a discipline that unites all generations: in Boretto, the youngest from the basic categories, juniors and under-23s, compete alongside seniors and masters. The races take place on two different courses, adapted to the categories and the planned length, so that each athlete faces an adequate distance. With almost two hundred participants expected at each edition, the Saccani Stadium in Via Vecchi transforms for a day into the meeting point for the running community of the Bassa Reggiana.

Local Clubs

The event is the result of collaboration between local sports organizations: the organization is managed by U.S. Folgore Boretto and Atletica Guastalla-Reggiolo (FIDAL clubs of Reggio Emilia), with the collaboration of the Ciccisbey Boretto group and the patronage of the Municipality of Boretto. It is an example of how, even in a town of a few thousand inhabitants, athletics remains a living heritage, capable of mobilizing volunteers, managers, and families.

Boretto and the Terre di Po

Overlooking the great river, Boretto is one of the most characteristic villages of the Terre di Po e dei Gonzaga: its riverfront, embankments, and floodplain offer an ideal natural setting for cross-country running. Running here means immersing yourself in the landscape of the lower Po Valley, amidst winter fogs and the open horizon of the Po River, in one of the races that best tells the popular spirit of Emilia's athletics.